Conan the Barbarian Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Conan The Barbarian
Year: 1982
Director: John Milius
Country: US
Language: English

In the late 1970s, producer Dino De Laurentiis saw potential in the mainstream popularity of the relatively new “Dungeons & Dragons” game and hired screenwriter Oliver Stone to adapt the similar Conan stories for film. With Conan the Barbarian epic storytelling comes by way of bloody swordfights, brawny heroes, evil wizards, hideous serpents, and scantily clad women. Rather than keeping a comic book tone, director John Milius plays it straight; allowing for a more serious tone that ultimately improves the character. 

A vengeful barbarian warrior (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sets off to avenge his tribe and his parents whom were slain by an evil sorcerer and his warriors when he was a boy. 

In many ways the film is reserved for those who have read the original stories, as critics such as myself can easily just see Conan the Barbarian as masculine exploitation. From what is presented onscreen, the film oozes testosterone to the point of parody. Our hero is a man of many muscles and few words, attempting to protect a varying number of subordinate damsels in distress. Granted Conan takes place in a fictionalized prehistory that has to be stripped down to bare primal instinct. 

Milius’ film can be seen as a product of Schwarzenegger-brand cheese. Many scenes are often unintentionally funny, and there is an atmosphere of camp which fills every frame. Granted, the score is grandiose and the cinematography is outstanding. Milius’ treatment lends a history-in-the-making feel to every scene and his screenplay is filled with religious indictment. Even if Conan can't be taken completely seriously, it still has the feel of an epic. 

With Conan the Barbarian director John Milius sacrifices box office revenue, in exchange for artistic integrity. It is not a "safe" family adventure, rather it does discuss heavy religious implications while having a fairly complex main character. Even if it's a lame duck by today's standards, it still ought to get recognition for inviting lore to the silver screen.